His
knowledge of Vietnam and his help in all sorts of ways. We are grateful too, to his staff, as well as to our interpreter, already mentioned, Mr Kin Te. Next our special thanks go to Mr Peter Carter who was assigned to us as our secretary, note-taker and scribe. work, in circumstances, which were often far from easy, was crucial to the gathering of evidence and the preparation of our report. are also most grateful to the UNHCR representative in Hanoi, M. Charles-Henri Bazoche, and his staff.
We
CASE STUDIES
Interview 1
7. The group covered by this interview comprised 13 members of two families. Before leaving Vietnam, the group had been fishermen, with three generations working one boat on which 12 of them lived. After losing a season's fishing for natural causes, life became hard economically and the family was unable to make a sufficient living. They left for Hong Kong on their own boat on 10 June 1988 to find a better life elsewhere, arriving on 20 June. They had not left because of problems with or persecution by the Vietnamese authorities. On arrival in Hong Kong waters on 20 June they were intercepted by the Hong Kong police. They spent their first two days in Hang Chau camp and the next month at He Ling Chau. Finally they were transferred to Chi Ma Wa and spent over a year there. Their main recollection of the camps reported to us was the extent of the barbed wire. Numbers grew rapidly in the camps while they were there and, in He Ling Chau, they were housed in dormitories of 200. They received three meals a day rice morning and evening, and milk at midday. One woman in the group worked as a sweeper/cleaner for three months for HK$100 per month, but before her return to Hong Kong had received only one month's pay.
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8. The group claimed to have received no counselling while they were in the cars. They stayed as long as they did because they had no means of returning to Vietnam and did not know how to obtain information. ey knew after their arrival that the screening process existe, and at some point an immigration officer interviewed them for an hour. But it was five months before they were told they were not refugees. They said they were unaware of an appeals procedure, and knew only that lawyers had told them they were economic migrants. They added that they did not know of Hong Kong regulations before leaving Vietnam and had been interested only in leaving. They explained also that, even after being told that they were not refugees, they did not consider leaving Hong Kong, having fled Vietnam illegally with no intention of returning.
9. According to the head of household, the members of this group were transferred by the police to Phoenix House on 31 October 1989. He said they were not told this was in preparation for a return to Vietnam, although they thought this was the case. Life was better at Phoenix House than in the other camps. With no advance warning,
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